EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, a 12-time Pro Bowler who played in the Super Bowl for the first time in Sunday night's 43-8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, said after the game that he plans to return next season. There had been more of a question around Bailey's future than that of Peyton Manning, who again scoffed at the suggestion that he would call it quits.

"I love the game and I can still play," Bailey said. "That's pretty much what it is. That's all it is. ... It's a little embarrassing to lose like that, but I'm still gonna hold my head up."

Bailey, like most of his teammates, had a rough go on Sunday night. The worst play of Bailey's night probably was when he got beat on a 37-yard completion from Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin that set up a Seattle field goal. Bailey also took a stiff-arm from Wilson that made the rounds as a symbolic image of the way the night went. He said he would consider even moving to safety.

Manning was more agitated about dealing with questions about his future.

"I've been dealing with those all week," he said. "This doesn't change anything as far as what I want to do. Certainly, for our entire team, I think we used last year's playoff loss to kind of fuel us, and it made us a better team this year. Hopefully we can use this to fuel us this offseason into next season as well."

SAFETY DANCE: The fastest first score in Super Bowl history also was the most unlikely, as the Seahawks began Sunday night with a safety just 12 seconds into the game.

On Denver's first play from scrimmage, center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball over Manning's head, and into the end zone. Running back Knowshon Moreno dived onto the ball to prevent the Seahawks from scoring a touchdown on the play, instead conceding two points as Cliff Avril made contact for the safety.

"None of us heard the snap count," Ramirez said. "I thought I did, so I snapped it, but I guess Peyton was actually trying to walk up to the line at the time."

That certainly is what happened, and while the center and quarterback were not on the same page when the game started, they agreed on what happened to cause the play that will live on in blooper reels for decades.

"The first play was a cadence issue," Manning said. "We were using the snap count on the play, and due to the noise, no one could hear me. As I was walking up to the line of scrimmage to make a change to try and get us on the same page, the ball was snapped. ... It's nobody's fault, just a noise issue that really caused that play to happen."

It was an unusually loud crowd for a Super Bowl, and Broncos receiver Wes Welker admitted "we weren't prepared at the beginning." It certainly showed on that first play.

The safety was only the eighth in Super Bowl history, but it was the third straight year that one was scored. In Super Bowl XLVI, Tom Brady was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, and last year Baltimore Ravens punter Sam Koch intentionally took a safety late in the fourth quarter rather than risk a return that could have set up the San Francisco 49ers for the win.

The Broncos had been on the wrong end of a safety in the Super Bowl once before, when George Martin of the New York Giants sacked John Elway in the end zone in Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl.

The Seahawks, cheered by the famous 12th Man, not only scored 12 seconds into the game, but also 12 seconds into the second half, on Percy Harvin's 87-yard kickoff return.

Smith, only the eighth defensive player to ever win the Most Valuable Player award, intercepted a Peyton Manning pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown to give Seattle a 22-0 lead. If that weren’t enough, he also recovered a fumble by Broncos’ receiver Demaryius Thomas. That turnover resulted in yet another Seattle touchdown.

For the game, Smith accounted for nine tackles, including five solo tackles, and two passes defended. Teammate Kam Chancellor also had nine tackles. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett brought pressure. Richard Sherman, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury, along with Earl Thomas and the rest of the secondary, were smothering.

On a night of great performances, it was Smith who most stood out.

THE OTHER QB: Russell Wilson just matched Manning in Super Bowl rings, and he's got more than a dozen years on him to get this second.

Between how the Seahawks defense and Percy Harvin blew up and blew through the Broncos, Wilson somehow was the forgotten superstar of the Super Bowl. That was the case leading up to the game, too, with everything Manning.

The type of stellar performance Wilson turned in Sunday (18-of-25, 206 yards, 2 TDs, 3 rushes, 26 yards) has become ho-hum. Elite games with high efficiency are routine, enough to go unnoticed when the defense does all the talking.

The reality is, Wilson's advanced maturity and veteran sensibility set him up to lead the Seahawks to more rings. Tom Brady earned game MVP when he got his first ring, but that happened because New England's physical secondary (sound familiar?) got attention when the Patriots needed him more to get their next two.

Chalk this one up to Seattle's D. The next one will belong to Wilson.

UNIQUE NEW YORK: The game was the first in NFL history, regular season or playoffs, to end with a 43-8 score. ... The stadium in New Jersey might be different, but the result was similar -- the last time Manning trailed by 29 points in a game was the 2002 AFC wild card game against the New York Jets, a 41-0 loss for Manning's Indianapolis Colts. ... Manning moved past Tom Brady for the all-time lead in postseason passing yards, with 6,589 in his career.